For the first time in 25 years, a Riverina Scout Patrol brought home the winning trophy for the NSW State Rally competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Scouts Hannah Shea, Emma Johnston, Bailey Caughey and Benjamin Caughey form the winning Patrol, named Hayzelnuts.
Emma said she was exhausted after the event and surprised to win.
“I was pretty exhausted from the run and we were on the bus, we didn't think we were going to win,” she said.
Ben said they were gobsmacked because it was their first time in the rally,
“One of my favourite things we had to do was the horizontal bungee, where we had two people on a time and we played quidditch and we won that too,” he said.
Hannah enjoyed the Harry Potter theme to the activities.
“We did archery and Voldemort was our target, I almost hit a leader,” she joked.
Bailey said they would definitely be coming back again next year.
“We had to build a chariot, we all got a lot of splinters and I had to ride it and it was very bumpy,” he said.
Seventy Scouts and Leaders from across the Riverina travelled to Sydney to participate in the rally. The last time they returned with a victory was in 1993 with a joint Batlow/Gundagai Patrol winning.
It was Hay’s first time participating in recent history, but Scout Leader James Caughey said they’ll definitely be back again.
“State Rally was such a great experience for the Scouts,” he said.
“They made new friends, reconnected with friends from across the Riverina, embraced the challenge of planning their menu, shopping for their food and camping independently, and thoroughly enjoyed a weekend of laughs, new experiences and thoroughly enjoyed a weekend of laughs, new experiences and outdoor adventures.
“I can’t think of a better way for a young person to spend their weekend.”
The theme for State Rally 2018 was “Choose Your Own Adventure“, with activities on offer, from physical challenges and applying practical scouting skills, to logic puzzles and teamwork tasks.
Leaders from across the Riverina hosted a popular Wild West Bank Robbery base. On one side, Scouts played the villain, having to lash staves together to move a cog to crack the bank safe without setting off a colour blast.
On the other side, they attempted to thwart the villains’ escape by lighting a fire to travel down a zipline and detonate a fiery canyon explosion.
Riverina Region Commissioner for Scouts, Ian Petty said he was proud of the win
“As the Region Commissioner for Scouts I am incredibly proud of 1st Hay’s exciting achievement and can only imagine how thrilled the Scouts and Leaders must be,” he said
“What a brilliant way to lift the profile of country Scouting.”